[Gem]

Originally Posted by naturesflow

What I meant about individual process and integration is this, the process of attaining insight/clarity whatever one calls it.

Yes, the insight road to wisdom - you're talkin' my language.

becomes like markers of awareness to the process of others walking through their process. One aspect of learning those markers now integrated in me through universal wonders and experiences is the deeper awareness of the Buddhist teachings that have as you mentioned become an embodiment and open state "aware".

The way I approach it is opening up through the body, the purification from the surface of hard solidity deeper to subtle levels. That's my way so that's what I talk about, and all the other ways, I don't know about them - and really I think everyone needs to find their own way, and don't follow, don't lead, don't try to help, advise etc and so on. We can see 'try to help' creates bad vibes all the time. I don't know why people keep doing it, getting offended when they are no thanked and so on and so on and so on. People are not aware how all these 'good will' desires are self sating, and really have nothing to do with the benefit of others. For example, here on SF I can role play the great Buddhist meditator, but in the ashram I serve others by cleaning rooms, working long hours in the kitchen and so on. When I served a fairly high station as the meditation student's carer, I served by cleaning the toilet and shower block every day. That care only appears in the quality of the work I do in consideration for those I serve. It isn;t what I do, like important teaching or menial dunny cleaning, but the motivation for my doings. We see different levels of dunny cleaning - quick minimal jobs because the cleaner don't like the task, and really high shine work because the cleaner wants what is best for the meditation group. I was running the basic day to day kitchen staff and cleaning people, who are all unpaid for their services, and had to remind people that you need to, like, fold the blanket with care. Not carefully per se, but because you actually care about the person who's coming to use this room. People are used to working for reward, and do great work out of self pride, so as to be noticed and get promotions, so we aren't socially conditioned to care, and most us forge meaningless lives with no point. Status is strongly embedded in us psychologically, but I have served in high and low stations, and the teacher's work is not higher than the cleaner's. How high the work is can be measured in the depth of caring which motivates it, and can't be measured in the high social station of the worker. Then we start to be respectful, and stop treating people as lessers as ignorants, and followers, as docile and obedient and so forth.

The process for myself now serves my listening and support of others. Did I need to walk through, open to so much in connection to understand the core essence and my true self in much simpler terms of living and being me? Yes. Fear laden, conditioned skewed views plus suppressed emotional baggage chose a path entwined in many paths to experience myself connected in this way. I would say now all those tools I used were really only information that I could relate connections to the world in ways that resonated and felt safe to reveal myself to myself in. I never ignored myself in all those things so through process and undestanding thingsike chakras, energy healing practices and the many so called new age practices I opened to, I was a self aware and deeply self reflective person.

Indeed, making safe spaces is very important...

Personally, I'm not into new age stuff, no crystals, cards, spells, twinflames - but alternative healings is a cool thing - as I did grow up in the magical land of Papua New Guinea - and there's nothing 'material' about that place. Chakra I experience as sensation or the top of my head seems to let the light in. I invented a metta meditation once which started 'love of the universe. Top of my head' so crown chakra - hmmm, I'm down wit dat.

I imagine myself to be a deeply reflective person myself, I mean, I big into self awareness so everything is self reflection.

My goal through process was to find myself in a those things. Now she I am working with others the space is my clarity, because I listen as deep as I listen to myself clear. I was deeply afraid of others, life and had no buffer (supportive mechanism in me at all to build safe process. So those external relationships provided a tool (which became my parental reconnection/safe source)that built a slow and comfortable feeling "I feel connected and feel some measure of control in my world" To stand up for myself, open and let go.

Hey - making safe space is a really refined skill, so kudos to you for getting all the elements into play! I can tell that you're safe, so it comes across pretty clear.

The second thing, having a measure of control - we call that 'self-determination' in humanities language, and that is the empowerment. OK so we have high spiritual ones here speaking on empowerment through gurus, but I know by their domineering stance that whatever it is they speak of is not empowerment - it's the opposite - because giving the space of bringing up the possibilities so is empowered is always their own determination without undue influence, coercion and/or temptation.

So long standing trust and liberation was done "my way" and through a deeper connection of ones relationship to the world from that point of awareness is the feeling and connection one can do anything. Live fully safe and know that the world as it is still supports me as I am now. When your a seed of deep rooted fear the core aspect of not wa ting to let go will have you in delusion for a very long time in the unfolding of deeper grounded trust.

Well, I'm a pretty average guy with my own life issues, fears and torments, but my favorite virtue is truthfulness, which is honesty and trust. I know through my working experience that trust the key to the door, and cultivating trust in people who have been screwed over is like a slow opening, and people have their stuff which is better kept secret... and on this level, self determination is letting people determine for themselves what they want to reveal and what they keep secret. That opens trust pretty well, too.